Why’s he retired from France at age 29? I mean it’s good for us. All his focus will now be on club football. France have decent young players coming through anyway.
19
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 34
- Clean sheets
- 13
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 2
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
- Status
Interesting that he's retiring from international football, but great news for us!
A few years ago it would have been seen as a very disrespectful move to retire from international football. It's now completely accepted as a normal thing to do and I I'm not sure I'm on board with that. Especially when Varane still has a clear role to play as a leader for the next generation.
I don't blame players at all, they are forced to make these decisions by greedy organizations stockpiling games at international and club levels to make as much money as they can.
I don't blame players at all, they are forced to make these decisions by greedy organizations stockpiling games at international and club levels to make as much money as they can.
He was with Lloris, Giroud, Griezman and Pogba the core of Deschamps team.
Now that all of them, except Griezman have retired for international, he just followed his group.
Varane is not really close with the new generation, the likes of Upamecano, Kounde, Konate, Hernandez, Tchouameni etc. Different ages so it s just having a new generation.
And I think he understood, since he came at United, that he s not capable anymore to play 60 games a year, so he made the right choice for his career and for us.
Now that all of them, except Griezman have retired for international, he just followed his group.
Varane is not really close with the new generation, the likes of Upamecano, Kounde, Konate, Hernandez, Tchouameni etc. Different ages so it s just having a new generation.
And I think he understood, since he came at United, that he s not capable anymore to play 60 games a year, so he made the right choice for his career and for us.
Kind of agree with that. Wonder if that is part of some negotiation between the clubs and older players. Zlatan retired at the same time he signed for United (and then made a comeback some years later).
In the end the clubs pay them big money and want them to be fit for as many games as possible. The international football also seems extra risky for some reason. We have got back players injured from NT , Varane included, and the same for many other clubs. Isak got a pretty bad injurywith the Swedish NT just two matches after he signed for Newcastle.
Can we just find some serum to make him stop aging? He's an absolute beast of a player.
Such a great player. Hopefully less injuries now with the France retirement. He can keep going till his mid 30s with his style.
Man Utd 2:1 Crystal Palace
Martinez motm but varane did things so fantastically well next to him. Such a great partnership
He is a ROCK.
Aged like milk
Some gold here
Carried the ball more today than usual. Looked a bit more confident in his fitness in that regard.
Did anyone else notice the way he was running at times today? He looked like he was limping and running half-speed when in fact sprinting. Got me seriously worried, but haven't seen anything about it.
He does have a ungainly gait and posture, which probably doesn't help on the naked eye but yes he does seem to be moving a bit more cautiously imo. Not that he was all about high intensity sprints and getting touch tight anyways.
I think he's wisely playing within himself and luckily we can just about afford to do that. Not sure how sustainable it is though i.e him not firing on all cylinders physically (like earlier in the season) and his body. Him retiring from international football is a very good career move.
With Casemiro missing now do we dare rest Varane in any of the upcoming games so he's fit for the cup final?
He doesn’t get much respect from the English football watching masses does he? Apart from United fans obviously. Be very interested to see if he makes any team of year lineups at the end, for me he’s easily a top 5 CB in the league and has as good a claim as anyone to be the best.
I think some unfairly hold him to much higher standards because of his achievements. He has been as solid as Rio ever was.
We can easily rest Varane as I would be comfortable with Harry alongside Lisandro.
Yes, totally. He’s a wonderful player, such a smart defender. I’m so delighted when watching the partnership between him and Licha. What a transformation from last year!
The best defenders often go unnoticed by the regular fan. Blood an thunder defender always make the highlight reels so get the most coverage. It was the reason you had loads of non-united fans saying Vidic (as good as he was) was better than Rio at the time. It was clear as day to anyone that watched united on the regular that Rio was the superior player. He shepherded attackers down blind alleys and broke down attacks before they even started.
I'd hardly go that far. Maybe Rio after his back injury when he was still very good, but 06/07 and especially 07/08 Rio were a completely different level. That's not being too disparaging on Varane, as 07/08 Rio is probably the best defender in PL history.
He is the best in the league for my money, especially when you consider his pedigree.
Man Utd 2:2 Leeds United
Very poor first half, poor for both goals and a few other misplays. A bit better in the 2nd half.
Overall a poor game and looked a bit stressed by Leeds’ intense press.
He and Martinez looked exposed without Casemiro, in a similar way as last season.
On the positive side were his attempt in the opponents box where he was close to scoring a few times.
He and Martinez looked exposed without Casemiro, in a similar way as last season.
On the positive side were his attempt in the opponents box where he was close to scoring a few times.
Last edited:
Had a mare today, both goals he played a part in
Probably his worst game all season. Had a horrid first half against Bamford and then the own goal.
Leeds were happily give Varane time on the ball but his passing is fairly limited and he was exposed even more without our first choice CM.
He was a bit of a mess, would be tempted to start Lindelof or Maguire instead of him in the next game.
That was horrible from him TBF.
Bad night for Varane. Needs a rest.
Horrible, but the backline was very exposed. Worst game he's played this season easily.
Where the hell was the going for their first goal? Obviously Gnonto went on to shoot through exactly where Varane should have been.
Topped it off with the OG as well.
It was a very odd showing from him as he'd been immense for the few games prior to this.
Topped it off with the OG as well.
It was a very odd showing from him as he'd been immense for the few games prior to this.
Was bad.
Normally he’s got Casemiro infront of him. Big difference tonight.
Midfield was invisible tonight so he was left with the task of a CB and a CM.
Would of been pure drama if he headed the winner mind>
Would of been pure drama if he headed the winner mind>
Terrible start but got back to it in the latter stages of the game.
Very much felt like Armas had seen something in his time at United with Varane and they set up to target him tonight. Varane look baffled as to where to pass the ball every time he received it. They stood off him, closed off his passing channels, and he looked to have no composure or vision to find a non-immediate pass.
Or they're blocking passing lanes to any other rather than Fred. We all saw what happened when Fred received the ball, and in the midst of action this game...
It's no tactical masterclass. ETH messed up with Rashford position and starting Weghorst this game (we don't need him this game), compound with absence of multiple key players.
Had ETH played Rashford upfront. Even if we conceded the same early goal, I believe we might have equalized at 1-1 sooner, and prevented the second goal, while finding at least one winner goal.
Leeds capitalized mostly from us unable to quick counter through the middle, exploiting their high line when they press. If they're pinned back, they're shite at defending in the box even against the non traditional CF like Rashford. There is a reason, McTominay dominate with his physicality against Leeds, or how we had no issue playing Bruno as false #9, Pogba through ball against Leeds no long ago. Yet that same tactic failed miserably against most other teams.
Last edited:
Agreed. I thought Varane was 'fine' on the ball; he could have been more adventurous but it's understandable as they were pressing almost one on one. It's more of a problem on ETH and the team set up because apart from Fred, Shaw and Dalot, no one else was dropping deep or fast enough for us to progress the ball. That improved in the 2nd half of course when we increased our tempo.
- Status